Daren
by BNLuna19
Summary: This is the tale of a dark blue unicorn that decided to fight against his destiny... and lost. Now he is lost and confused, with nothing but his life and his broken mind. Will he be able to move on; or will he forever be left in the darkness?


My name is Daren. I have been assimilated with dark magic, becoming what is known as a shadow pony. It has been three hours since I woke up this morning, dizzy and disoriented in some cottage with bandages around my bleeding head. I feel like I just woke from a nightmare, and my mind is in pieces. My memories are mixed up with some parts missing, some altered, and some that are very possibly fake. I feel I should attempt to figure out the real from the fake as soon as I can. I'm not sure why I'm here, whose home this is, or whether the owner of the home is hostile. I figure its best not to stay. I doubt I could fight in this condition. I will begin exploring and analyzing my memories as soon as I find a safe place to stay.

The door was unlocked. I stepped out into a large forest. I decided to hide in the brush for a while to see if whoever owns the house would come, but they didn't. After a few hours, I moved on.  
My head no longer hurts, but I still have yet to remove the bandages. I don't know how severe the wound was, but I'm not light headed, so I think I will be fine. I found a small lake to rest by. This should be enough for tonight, but I cannot stay here forever. I will begin writing down what little I can remember.  
There is someone who seems to appear often in what is left of my memories. That pony is almost always by my side, and makes me feel like a part of me is missing since he or she is no longer here. It hurts, that pony was so close to my heart, and yet I can't remember a thing about him or her. Name, gender, face... it has all been lost. I almost have to wonder if that pony ever really existed at all. Maybe it was a figment of my imagination to comfort me through hard times, to keep my loneliness at bay. If that pony is real, I hope he or she returns soon.  
Its funny, the two worst parts of my life, the times I would need such a figment the worst, that pony wasn't there. That may prove that he or she was real, either that or most if not all of my memories are fake. I'd hate for that to be true. These memories are all I have left of my former self. My body and mind have changed in many ways since my youth. I was so carefree and innocent back then. I thought I knew where my life was going... and I couldn't have been more wrong.

On the last entry I spoke about the two worst moments of my life. For the life of me, I cannot recall exactly what happened, but I remember the fear and agony. I think I can assume my mind blocked those memories, and I'm sure it will take a while till I can fully retrieve them. Its best to focus on what I can remember for now.  
Lee Stone. He was my father- no. No, he wasn't. I never knew my father. I was an orphan, and the one who found me left me as a baby on Lee's doorstep. Lee was a one-man orphanage. He took care of all the young filly and colt orphans in that town. What was that town called? I can't remember. Oh, and that pony was there too. I think he or she was an orphan, too. Hmm, I can't just keep calling him or her "that pony." Let's see... Anonymous. Or, Anon for short. That works for now, until I can remember his or her name.  
I'm getting off-topic. What else can I remember...?  
About my name... I remember Lee telling me that when he first saw me on the doorstep he wasn't sure what to call me. He said that sometime during the night that very same night I managed to crawl out of my crib and grab one of his Daring Do books off of the shelf then used it as a pillow. He called me "Daring" after that, but because of his thick southern accent it came out as "Daren" and then the name just stuck. When I got older, he used the very same books to teach me how to read, and when I left the house he gave them to me as a parting gift. I wonder what happened to them?

Something interesting happened to me today.  
I finally decided that the middle of a forest wasn't exactly the place I wanted to stay, so I wandered off until I ran into a small town called Ponyville. I have no recollection of this town, and nopony seemed to recognize me, so I'll have to assume this is my first time being here. I didn't make it far into the village before I was stopped by a small pink pony. She was a bit too loud, but she had a glint of a childish innocence in her eyes. She was incredibly excited to see somepony new, I'm guessing it doesn't happen often? Anyway, she instantly started babbling off about a welcoming party and I told her about how I wasn't fond of crowds or the loud noise they make. She grinned at me and told me she'd throw a small one instead then, so I wouldn't feel uncomfortable. I reluctantly agreed to go to this, and then she told me to come to Sugarcube Corner later this afternoon.  
After that, I made the arrangements to live in a small cottage at the edge of town, not too different from the one I had awoken in just a few days ago. I have to wonder if the one who owns that one lives in Ponyville? It was only a few minutes away from the town, so it is very likely.  
By the time I finished making my arrangements, I realized it was time for me to go to that party with the pink pony. I heavily contemplated on whether to go, or just avoid it, but in the end I decided to go because I knew she had the best intentions and she was just trying to make me feel welcome. I just didn't want to hurt her feelings.  
When I arrived the place was lightly decorated with balloons, streamers and the like and there was a small table with a cake reading "Welcome to Ponyville" and a few gifts stashed under the table. The pink pony, "Pinkie Pie" as she was called, greeted me with a huge grin plastered on her face assuring me I would have a lot of fun. She introduced me to what she said was her five closest friends and then turned on some music and sang some songs. I spent most of my time at the party sitting at the table eating cake while watching Pinkie's crazy antics. Eventually night came and I politely told her I had to leave, but I had a good time. We said our goodbyes and parted ways.  
Its strange, I don't remember getting such a welcome from any other town I've ever visited. Pinkie did a good job making me feel welcome here. I think I've found where I'll be staying until I can piece my memories back together.

-

Daren sat in his room, staring at the paper. He wanted to write, but his mind was drawing a blank. He just wasn't sure what to write about, since he had so many memories and thoughts buzzing through his head. He shut his journal and decided to go outside for some fresh air to clear his mind. He grabbed his brown cloak and left.  
He walked the streets of Ponyville, a strange feeling growing in his core. It was like a sort of premonition that something was going to happen. A few of the civilians gave him a cheerful, "Hello!" as he passed, though he tried his best to pretend he hadn't heard them. He really didn't feel like dealing with anypony right now.  
His hooves eventually lead him back to Sugarcube Corner. Instantly he questioned himself for coming, considering his current mood. He turned to leave, but as if on cue, Pinkie Pie called to him from the window. She told him that there was somepony she wanted him to meet. Daren let out an exasperated groan, then turned and went inside.  
"Hey! There's another new pony here! I'm sure you two will get along because you're both new and so you both know what the other one is going through and you two can become friends and be happy! Isn't that just great! Oh! She's over there! Go talk to her! Don't worry, she's nice! I've been talking to her all day! I mean, I'm the one that's been doing most of the talking but I know she..." It was about that point that Daren tuned her out.  
Eventually the Cakes called her over to help another customer. Daren moved to a small deserted table in the corner and looked over at the pony that Pinkie wanted him to become acquainted with.  
She was a light blue Pegasus with a pink and blue mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a pink heart with a pair of white wings attached to it. She was talking to Mrs. Cake across the table. She seemed very energetic, and she never broke her smile, but something about her seemed off somehow. Like it was all fake.  
She turned her head toward Daren; and that is about the time he realized he was staring at her. He jumped a bit and looked away, pink beginning to stain his dark blue cheeks. He shut his eyes and tilted his head so his mane would cover his face. He heard the soft sound of hooves getting louder as if somepony was approaching him.  
"Hello...?"  
He looked up a bit, trying to see through his mane. Of coarse, it was her. He sputtered out, "S-sorry... I wasn't trying to..." He trailed off, looking away once more. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest.  
"Haha, don't be so shy! You can talk to me! I don't bite," she smiled at him. "My name is Skye."  
He looked back up, seeing her smile. He gave her a small, shy smile in return. "M-my name is Daren. It's... nice to meet you."  
She sat across from him. "So, why were you staring at me?"  
He flinched. "Um... " He let out a small, nervous laugh. "I... I just thought... you looked sad..."  
She tilted her head slightly, her expression quickly turning from cheerful to serious. "Really," she said slowly. "You're right. It's true."  
"Wha...?" The sudden tone change shocked him. Why did she admit it so suddenly...?  
"Hey, you know what? I like you." She smiled again. "We should hang out! I live in a teeny-tiny blue cottage on the west side of Ponyville. Come over sometime, okay?" She stood up suddenly. "See ya later, Daren!"  
She trotted out of the store, leaving Daren speechless. 'That was... abrupt...' he thought to himself. He waited a while, then eventually left Sugarcube corner. He couldn't seem to get that mare out of his head. 'Great,' he thought, walking back into his home. 'I left the place to clear my mind but now it's more crowded than ever.'

I remember...

I was walking through the forest with Anon. We were chatting away happily. I had just gotten my first chance to prove myself as a true hero.  
"But it's true! He seriously said that some chicken came in and turned that cow into stone!" My teenage self laughed. "Have you ever even heard of such a thing?"  
"Well, hopefully it's true, otherwise he has you going on a wild goose chase." Anon walked beside me, not quite as amused as I was. She probably felt that I was wasting my time with this.  
"Yeah... but wait, if it wasn't some magic chicken," I giggled slightly, "The what was it? I mean something had to turn that cow into stone! Cows don't just turn to stone on their own!"  
"Well, at least you were able to turn it back. That's still pretty amazing. I mean, I know you're good with rock magic, but-"  
"H-Hey, did you hear something?" I cut her off abruptly.  
"Huh...?" She stopped, looking around and tilting her ears forward. "Uh, Daren, I don't hear anything."  
"Oh, well, must have been my imagination. Lets keep our guard up. The medusa chicken might try to get a drop on us," I laughed.  
She gave me a strange look and continued to walk along beside me. It was silent for a while. We walked through that forest for hours. Soon, night came, and we had to quit for the day. We returned to the mayor and told him we couldn't find it. Daren was discouraged, but he still sent us out again the next day.  
That day we decided to split up and look for it, which was probably a bad idea. About three hours into the search, I heard her scream echo through the forest. I followed the sound, and then found her already turned to stone. The chicken, or as I later found out it was called a cockatrice, came out from the underbrush and attempted to turn me to stone.  
The fight between me and that monster was a bit underwhelming. It only took a second for both of us to realize that his powers don't work on me, and another to find out that I could actually turn it into stone. Ever since then, the mayor kept the stone bird as a centerpiece in town square as if to warn monsters that this isn't the town you want to mess with. Sadly, that stone trick was incredibly difficult to do on anything larger than a cockatrice so I could only use it when facing small monsters.  
I also remember teasing Anon mercilessly for being frightened by a small chicken. Though, she's usually roll her eyes and respond with something embarrassing from my past.


End file.
